Berkshire
Berkshire (pronounced 'Barksheer') is a county in the south of England, to the west of London. It is also known as Royal Berkshire, and this title was made official with a grant in the 1930s. The historical county is one of the oldest in England, being reliably dated back to the setting of the county borders by King Alfred the Great of Wessex. The administrative county, formed in the 1890s originally followed very similar borders to the historical county, but Reading, as a County Borough, was not part of this so Abingdon became the county town. Following the reorganisation of the administrative counties in 1974, Abingdon and the Vale of the White Horse were transfered to Oxfordshire, Slough was added from Buckinghamshire, and Reading became the county town. In the 1990s the county council was abolished and the districts became unitary authorities.The county takes its name from a large forest of birch trees that was called Bearroc (Celtic for 'hilly') and was originally a transaction of land to King Cenwalh of Wessex. At this time, it only consisted of the northerly and westerly parts of the current county.
In the past the county town (capital) has been in Abingdon (which became administered by Oxfordshire when boundaries were changed in 1974) and Reading.
Other notable towns are:
- Bracknell
- Caversham
- Hungerford
- Maidenhead
- Newbury
- Windsor, home of Windsor Castle, and which gives its name to the House of Windsor
- Wokingham
- Didcot
- Wallingford
- Wantage
- Faringdon
